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The arena is named after James "Bud" Walton, co-founder of Wal-Mart, who donated a large portion of the funds needed to build the arena. Walton purportedly gave 15 million, or around half of the construction cost.[3] Construction of the arena took only 18 months, a short time considering the size of the undertaking.

When it was built, it was touted as a larger version of Barnhill Arena, the team's former home. In hopes of recreating the formidable home-court advantage the Razorbacks enjoyed at Barnhill, architect Rosser International built an arena that, as it put it, had "more seats in less space than in any other facility of the same type anywhere in the world."[4]

The arena has been the home to the Razorbacks since November 1993; the men's team won the national championship[5] in the arena's first season of operation. The basketball team's former home, Barnhill Arena was renovated into a volleyball-specific facility and now houses the Razorback women volleyball team.[6]

In its early years, Nolan Richardson's teams frequently attracted standing-room-only crowds of over 20,000.

The past few years have brought a number of enhancements and improvements to the arena. In 2004, a new custom scoreboard was debuted which is 24 feet, three inches wide by 22 feet tall, features four video screens, each 12 feet, six inches wide by eight feet, 10 inches tall. (Also, there is an LED ring at the top that is used to display game statistics.) In 2005, the locker rooms were remodeled, and a lounge and meeting area were added. Prior to the 2008–09 season, the University of Arkansas expanded the arena by eight luxury suites, raising the total to 47. In addition, courtside seating was added, the student section was reconfigured, and press seating was moved to the East side of the arena behind the basket. LED ribbon boards were also installed around the ring between the upper and lower decks and were first used during Arkansas's upset of #4 Oklahoma on December 30, 2008.[7] The addition of these improvements expanded seating to 19,368. Prior to the 2013-14 season, the University of Arkansas, again, reconfigured press seating to the southeast corner of the bottom bowl, reserving its existing place for an expanded student section, commonly referred to as "The Trough."